This world has become a cruel place, especially for people with disabilities who struggle to fit in the norms imposed by the society. These people long for a place under the sky and hope to be accepted, but unfortunately, there are always stares and mean comments.
Rustam is a young boy with deformities left behind by his parents. He was given up for adoption, but as we all know, not many people are willing to open the doors to their hearts and homes for children like him.
Luckily, Rustam was spotted by a woman named Nika Zlobina who was preparing adoption documents when she stumbled upon his photo and his life story. She then made it her mission to find Rustam a loving home, but she ended up adopting him along the way.
“I was preparing paperwork for an adoption and there was a database with photos of children, and I happened to see images of Rustam,” Nika explained.
The first thing this woman did for this special boy was create an Instagram account to showcase all children looking for a family, including him.
She included a video of Rustam dancing and it attracted the attention of many. However, as many people had sweet words to share about Rustam, there were also those who posted mean comments. “Some said this ‘freak’ won’t ever be adopted. I was terrified how many people wrote negative comments, and among them were young mothers with kids,” Nika said.
Nika’s biggest wish was to fight the misconception that disabled children are not the best choice when it comes to adoption. By sharing Rustam’s daily routines, his many smiles, and the way he showed happiness when around the right people, Nika hoped people would understand that these children deserve the chance to be taken care of.
“Everyone mostly wants blond beautiful babies to adopt, and there’s a long line for such kids; meanwhile, others suffer without parents,” Nika wrote.
That is when Nika made the decision to adopt Rustam herself. She and her husband were more than happy to become parents of this sweet boy who radiated joy whenever he went.
Nika wrote that this adoption served as inspiration to other people who were planning to welcome a child into their lives in this manner. “One woman wrote that she was afraid to go out with her daughter who has Down’s Syndrome, adding that my posts give her courage; and now she does not hesitate to go for walks with her daughter,” Nika posted.
Of course, there are always stares and comments by complete strangers, but Nika and her husband do all in their power to protect their son and teach the world that there is nothing bad about being different. In fact, it is the differences that make this world go round.
Today, Rustam is nine years old and is living the best life possible.
